Magenta Rain
by Makami
Summary: Kazune goes missing. Michiru recieves a strange note from a beautiful woman, which leads Karin to Kazune. But something just isn't right. Kazune.Karin
1. Chapter 1

"Oooohhh! Where is he?" Karin Hanazono fumed as she stomped around the front hall. 

It had been nearly two days since one of her closest friends, Kazune Kujyou, had gone missing during the school day. That had been two days full of panic and worry; two days of little rest and as much searching as was humanly possible. But all of her efforts were to no avail. Kazune continued to be missing. Nothing she did was able to change that.

"Calm down, Karin-chan," Himeka Kujyou said softly as she walked up to Karin. She held a plate of cookies and a glass of milk in her hands. She held them out to Karin with a tight-lipped smile. "I'm sure… that Kazune-kun is… just fine… Really. He'll be back later tonight."

Karin frowned deeply. Himeka had been the one holding up a strong front for the past few days. She had continued smiling, and she kept on saying that Kazune would be "fine". She almost acted as though the blonde wasn't even missing at some points. It irritated Karin that she would pretend that things weren't so bad, but it became clear to her when she heard Himeka crying, alone in her room. Pretending that he wasn't missing, that he had just gone off on his own on some trip that neither of them knew about, and that he would be home in "only a few hours, at the most", was her own way of dealing with the stress.

But even self-delusion had its limits. And it was becoming painfully obvious as the seconds ticked by that Himeka was reaching those limits. She had reached them by the end of the day last night, and though the sun had barely begun to set, she was already starting to fall apart all over again.

_Kazune-kun…_ Karin thought, smiling at Himeka. She took a cookie from the plate and began nibbling on it. She eyes slowly made their way from her purple-haired friend and back to the door. _Where are you, Kazune-kun…?_

**Magenta Rain**

Chapter One, Lost and Found

"Anyways, it's getting late," Himeka continued. She set the plate and glass down on a side table in the hall. "…I think… I'll head off to bed now…"

Without another word, and before Karin could say good night, Himeka ran off. She left her alone. She didn't really want to go at her friend, who was just about ready to fall apart. It didn't matter how strong she was trying to appear, she was racked with worry. It wouldn't do any good to make her cry.

"Himeka-chan…" Karin said softly, watching where the preteen had been standing. She sighed heavily. _I don't know what to do. We've looked _everywhere _for Kazune! Even Micchi is helping us look… and Shi-chan's out there right now, looking… No one can find him… Why? Where is he?_

Numbly, she took a bigger bite of her cookie. She was tired. Kazune hadn't even been missing for two days and she was already starting to feel drained because of it. She was so used to having him around. She realized that she took it for granted. With Kazune around, she always felt safe. If she was challenged by Kirio and that mysterious Goddess, Kazune was almost always there to back her up. Even though he would be drained by the transformation, he had always been there for her.

And now, he probably needed her, but there was nothing that she could do for him. She could do nothing for the person that was always doing so much for her.

Frustrated, she punched the wall.

"Damnit…" she breathed. "Where are you… Jerk."

Someone knocked on the door suddenly. It was three short, sharp raps. But it was enough. Karin perked up, dropped her cookie, and ran for the door. Unfortunately, her foot caught on the rug and she tripped. She went face first into the door.

"Oww," she whined. She pushed away from the door and rubbed her nose.

The pain when away when there was another knock at the door.

"Kazune-ku--" she exclaimed as she threw the door open. Her eager anticipation was quickly cut off when she was greeted by the sight of Michiru's usual wolfish grin.

"Good evening, Hanazono-san!" he greeted her, giving her a little wave in the process.

"Micchi…" she stammered, her eyes wide in disbelief. It was just Michiru. Not Kazune. Not the one that she had been waiting for…

Karin bowed her head in defeat. Two days was too short a time to give up the search for him, but she was already starting to feel too hopeless to keep looking. Did everyone who had someone close to them that went missing go through this? Or were they all stronger? Was she just giving up because she was weak?

"Micchi…" she repeated, looking up at him. She knew that it was silly, but she couldn't help but be a little hopeful. "Kazune-kun… Did you… Did you come here because you found Kazune-kun?"

The corners of his mouth fell into a small frown, and he shook his head slowly.

"No, I can't say that I've found him, exactly," he told her. He rummaged through his pant pockets until he found what he was looking for: a slip of crumpled up paper. "But when I _was_ looking for him, this woman walked up to me and handed me this."

He held the paper out to her. With a heavy sigh, Karin took it from him.

"She told me not to read it, but" he gave a slightly nervous laugh "curiosity got me… She said to give it to you… When I read it, I knew I had to come here right away."

"Karin, I have your… _prince_?" Karin read the note out loud. She stared at it after the first line. _Prince? Does it mean Kazune-kun?_ she silently wondered before she continued. "If you want him back, you must come to get him. Alone."

So far she was sure that the letter was making sense. At least, if she was understanding it right, then it was made sense. Someone had kidnapped Kazune, and now they were ready to give him back. It seemed a little too simple, so she read it over a few more times. Each time she came to the same conclusion. What confused her was that they weren't asking for anything in return. No ransom. They weren't asking her to do anything in exchange for giving Kazune back. It was just "if you want him back, you must come to get him", followed by the address, and directions on how to get there. The only condition was that she had to go there alone.

That, she was certain that she could do.

"Maybe it was Mr. Glasses Man and… and Kirika-senpai…" she murmured. She still had trouble thinking of the upper classman as her enemy. But he was, and this was the situation. She had no one else to think of. _They probably took his ring… and now that they're done, they're giving him back…_

_Or just coming after me._

Her hand clenched around the note. Hot tears burned her eyes. _If they hurt you, Kazune-kun… even… if it _is _Kirika-senpai… I'll never forgive them!_

"Well, Hanazono-san? What say we get a move on?" Michiru chirped. Karin was suddenly reminded of the older teen's presence, and she stared blankly at him. He just smiled at her. "C'mon, we've got to go save Kazune-kun, don't we?"

"Oh… Y-Yeah, but…" she stammered. "You said that you read the note, right? They said--"

"I'll stand outside then," he cut her half-hearted protests off. "It's dangerous to go it alone. If I'm at least outside, waiting for you, then isn't that better?"

Karin continued to stare at him. _Yeah. I _would _feel better if Micchi's there with me. Kazune-kun always said not to fight alone… Maybe I should let him come with me. But it'll be dangerous for him. If it's them… I don't know what'll happen. What if he gets hurt?_

She heard a soft sigh pass through his lips.

"I promise to stay away from danger," he said. "I just want to help get Kazune-kun back safely. That woman… she seemed rather strange. Beautiful, but strange."

_Woman?_

Karin was confused.

"What woman?" she asked him.

Michiru perked up a little, smiling famously. "Oh! It was some woman that I've never seen before that gave me the note!"

Her eye twitched. He seemed rather happy that it had been a woman, a _beautiful_ woman, that had given him the note. Under any other circumstances, she would not have concerned herself on the subject… much, but Kazune was in trouble, and he was thinking about a woman. There was too much at stake for them not to be focused. Still, if it was a woman, than the odds that it was Kirio and Kirika that had kidnapped Kazune greatly lessened. At the very least, she knew that she would not be fighting any Gods on her own.

At least that was what she was hoping.

"Micchi… maybe you should stay here," she sighed. "_I'll_ be careful. I promise."

He shook his head. "I want to go, Hanazono-san."

----------

After some begging and pleading, and getting lost too many times to count because of bad directions and a lack of light that kept her from reading street signs properly. Karin found herself standing before a huge, abandoned warehouse. Michiru was with her, seemingly oblivious to the perilous circumstances under which they had come. She wished that she could have thought more of him, but in all honesty, she had never seen more than that out of him.

"Micchi, promise me that you'll stay here," Karin pleaded as she spun around to face her friend. He had already promised countless times to stay out of the warehouse, and away from danger--and that if danger came to him, he would run--but she had to make sure. Whoever it was that had taken Kazune had to be strong. She could not believe that he had been taken against his will by anyone, unless they were at least twice as powerful as he was. And even then, he would have gone down fighting.

Michiru nodded wordlessly. He didn't even put up a fight. A part of her was a little disappointed. He _should_ have argued with her, at least to be gentlemanly. But the current situation was too serious to be taken so lightly. There was no time for little games like that. This was not the time. Even Karin could understand that.

Karin turned and made her way for the front door. At least that was what she had decided to call it. She had no idea if warehouses actually had front doors. There were doors on every side, so which one really was the front? The one that faced the road? Probably. That was the side that everyone saw, so naturally that was what it would be called.

Again, her eye twitched. _What am I thinking?_ she silently yelled at herself. _Get a grip, Karin! Kazune-kun's in trouble and you're thinking about which is the front door! Gah! You idiot!_

The door moaned loudly when she pulled it open, as if giving fair warning to whoever it was that was inside that she had finally arrived and was coming in. The sound echoed throughout the dark hallway that it opened to. Karin stood in the doorway for a moment, trying to make her decision. She knew that she had to keep going in, but at the same time, it was so dark. She had no idea who, or what, was waiting for her in there. What if they were waiting in the shadows, and when she walked in, she was suddenly ambushed? She would be of no use to Kazune then. She would have failed him then.

"_Karin-chan, please be careful."_ Himeka's words echoed in her mind. There had been tears in her eyes when she said that. "_Please, bring Kazune-chan back home to me."_

Karin glanced back at Michiru. True to his word, he hadn't moved closer to the warehouse, though he looked like he wanted to. He was not a coward. If she called for help, and he heard her, then he would come to her aid. She knew that. But that was the last thing that she wanted. No one else needed to be in danger here.

_Go in, and get Kazune-kun out,_ she reminded herself. _Himeka's waiting for you to bring him back._

She turned back to the dark hallway, sucked in a deep breath, and took her first step forward and into the warehouse. The door slammed heavily behind her. The resounding _bang_ that resulted from it made her jump a little.

_Calm down, Karin!_ she encouraged herself.

After a few moments her heart stopped trying to jump up her throat, and she felt ready to continue. She did, keeping her gaze and hands directly in front of her. She could not see anything in this darkness. It was too dark, and there were no windows to provide light. Not that that would be of any help: it was night, the sun had set, and there really was not any light outside to depend on.

Finally her hands hit something solid. A cold, metal door stood before her. Or a metal wall. Either way. she was just surprised to find that she hadn't walked into anything. Well, she _did_ walk in to a wall, just as she had been expecting, but this one she had been prepared for. She had honestly expected to walk in to some piping or a bucket or something that was randomly laying around. It was as if someone had cleared the way for her.

Maybe they had.

Her hands searched the hard, cold surface before her until she found the doorknob.

She turned it.

A blast of cold air welcomed her into the room. She peeked her head around the door and gazed about the room. It was enormous. Bigger than any room she had ever been in before. It was even bigger than any room at Kazune's and Himeka's home.

"H-He... Hello?" Karin called tentatively.

The was no reply.

But a strange mass of darkness crumpled on the floor caught her attention. Beams of moonlight put it on the spotlight in the center of the room. Had that been intentional?

"Kazune-kun!" Karin cried, recognizing his pale blond hair. She ran over to him. "Kazune-kun, omigosh! Are you okay?"

Karin dropped down to her knees at his side. Kazune had not responded to her in any way. She reached for him, then hesitated. Was he hurt? She could faintly remember it in class, that if someone was hurt, that it was best not to move them. He looked like he was in good condition, except for the fact that he was unconscious. Was that a good sign? But being unconscious was a bad thing, right? So he really wasn't in a good condition. And if that was the case, then she shouldn't touch him… right?

"You can have him now," a woman's voice jarred Karin from her thoughts. "I'm done with him."

Karin looked up. Across the room stood a woman with long, purple-tinted hair. She was dressed in strange robes, arms crossed, as she smirked at her. She could barely make anything else out about the woman, but she knew it. The woman was beautiful.

"The kid'll sleep well for a few days. I don't know if he'll wake up before then, but he'll be okay once he wakes up," the woman told her.

"Keh. He really was worth my time," she purred.

Karin remained perfectly still next to Kazune. He still had not shown any signs of life. Was he alive? She couldn't tell at the moment, but she was willing to take the woman's word for it. If she was willing to give him back, then it probably was not worth the trouble. Besides, she had no idea who or what the woman was. It was different from Kirio and the mysterious Goddess. They were just like her. Her ring tingled unpleasantly in the presence of the woman. It was nothing like her normal enemies. She had no idea what to make of it.

If Kazune was able to help her, then it would have been different. He might have known and understood what she was, and how to defeat her.

But if that was truly the case, then wouldn't this moment have been avoidable?

The woman stalked over to them. She knelt down before Karin, next to Kazune's unmoving form.

"D-Don't…" Karin choked out in a whisper. She wanted to yell 'don't touch him!' at the woman, but the words just wouldn't come out. The feeling had grown worse the closer the woman came to them. Fear paralyzed her. She couldn't move, or speak.

The woman just smirked, her eyes flickering over Karin's face. "You're cute. I can see why you were the key."

"Eh? Key?"

"But, you're not my type," the woman sighed. "So get lost. Take him with you. He's useless right now."

"What… are you… saying…?" Karin questioned.

"Mmmnnnn…" Kazune groaned. His entire body shifted position as he slowly began to wake. He rolled to one side, and his eyes fluttered open.

"Kazune-kun…" Karin had no idea what to say. They situation was strange.

The woman smiled down at him. "I'll miss you. You were my favorite toy."

Kazune's eyes went big and round at the sight of the woman. Her voice only seemed to make it worse. He opened his mouth, and at first nothing came out. But then suddenly a shrill cry came from him, a long, wordless howl that Karin didn't know humans could make. He tried to move, scrambled to get his body up and run, but he just could not get the right coordination for it. He stumbled and tripped over himself, eventually landing on Karin's lap. He cowered there, holding his hands over his ears and muttering things under his breath.

_Kazune-kun…?_ Karin wondered. What had happened to freak him out so much?

"Hanazono-san!" Michiru's voice was barely audible past Kazune's howling. "Kazune-kun! What's wrong!"

Karin glanced back. Michiru was running towards them at full speed.

"Micchi…" she said softly. Tears filled her eyes.

Not even two days, and this had happened to Kazune. Whatever it was. The woman had done something awful to him. And it was her fault. It had to be. If only she had looked harder, and not worried about how late it got or how tired she became, then maybe they could have found him here. Maybe if he wore his ring on his finger, then she could have found him easier… Or maybe if she would have just paid more attention, and been smarter, then she could have learned more. She could have searched out his ring without him putting it on.

Karin glanced back at the woman, and gasped.

The woman was gone.

* * *

Ha ha, it's been a while since I took a look around this site! Dang, am I glad to see that there's finally a KCK section!

Well? Where to begin? Magenta Rain's title was inspired by a song entitled "Magenta Rain(Ai no Uta)", which is sung by Aikawa Nanase. It's really one of my favourite songs out there. Of course, the song's lyrics don't exactly match the story. In fact, they don't in any possible way. Again, I just love the song, and it was while I was listening to it, I came up with the idea for this story. It shouldn't be too many chapters long, and I'm working on the third one as we speak(along with several of my Pita Ten fanfictions that are still in progress...).

I should have given sooner warnings, but I didn't want to. The rating should say it all. There are slightly more mature themes to this story. You may have guessed it by now. Of course, there's nothing graphic, and a strange plot twist or two has already been decided. I hope that all of the readers I will have for this will enjoy it.


	2. Chapter 2

Doukoku suru MAJENTA no ame ga  
(The sobbing magenta rain)  
Kokoro ni shimitsuite kuru  
(Imprints itself on my heart)  
AIshiTERU to itta hibiki wa  
(The echo of 'I love you')  
Subete ni kooushite chiisana hoshi no you ni  
(Blends itself into everything and like a tiny star,)  
Hikatteiru  
(It shines)

Chapter Two, A Broken Doll

"Kazune-kun… I…" Karin stammered as she peeked her head into the blonde's room. As always, he was just sitting in bed, staring out of his bedroom window. "Himeka-chan and I are heading off to school now."

Something had happened to Kazune in those two days that he was missing. Something serious, and damaging. He had not been the same ever since he had been brought home. He sat around all of the time, staring off into space; whenever he was brought a meal, he did not eat it; when he did get to sleep, he always woke up with nightmares so severe that he cried. Despite all of that, he stubbornly insisted that he could not remember a thing that had happened to him while he was missing.

Kazune did not reply to her. Karin hadn't really been looking for a response, though it would have been nice to get one. He just sat there as always, staring out the window, as if she hadn't even entered the room. She wondered if he even heard her voice in his trance-like state. If he did, it didn't show.

_What did that woman do to him?_ she thought curiously.

"Kazune-kun." Calling out to him again couldn't hurt. At the very least, she'd have his attention and know that he was in there. _He._ Was there anything left of the real Kazune? It seemed like there was less and less of him left. "Kazune-kun, can you hear me?"

He still did not respond to her.

"………"

There was nothing that she could do to get his attention now. For the past few days, there had been nothing that anyone could do to get him to speak to them. Even Himeka had failed miserably at that. He wouldn't speak, and when she tried to touch his shoulder to get his attention, he lost it. He screamed and cried, did everything that was so unlike _Kazune_. He had almost hit her in the process of "escaping". Since that, Himeka did her best to avoid him. It probably hurt her too much to be near him, Karin figured.

Karin took a few steps into the room. At least… At least, she could just try to get him to look in her direction. That alone would be enough for today.

"Kazune-kun, look at me," she said softly. As she nearer him, he turned his head away. _I really can't help him, can I? I can't help him at all…_

Karin sighed softly and turned away. From what she could tell, Kazune would be happier if she just left him alone. That was what she would do for now. That was all that she could do for now.

----------

The school day had been long, and boring. It was always long and boring, and a little too hard for her small brain, but she had always made it through each day because of her friends. Kazune had always been there to help her out when she was having troubles. He encouraged her to keep trying as hard as she could. He would smile, and pat her head lightly, maybe even tousle her hair a little, and promise that that night he would help her with her homework. Without Kazune there, she felt like the schoolwork was crushing her.

He really did do so much to help her out.

_It's the least that I can do,_ Karin told herself as she hesitated outside of Kazune's bedroom door. It was already dinner time, and Himeka had showed her how to make all of his favorites. She held a silver tray in her hands that held the food. Since Himeka was not willing to come up here, it was Karin's job to make sure that the food at least arrived to him.

Whether he ate it or not was another affair.

"Kazune-kun," Karin sang as she rushed into the room.

It _had_ to be rushing. If she eased her way in, she would have lost her nerve. _Again. _By now the food had to be getting cold. If Kazune was willing to eat today, then she was sure that he would appreciate it if she didn't freeze his food.

At first she couldn't see Kazune. The lights had all been turned off and the curtains were drawn. When she took a moment to look around, she noticed an unusually large lump under the blanket on his bed. She could barely see it, outlined by the faint light that filtered in through the curtains.

"Kazune-kun," she sighed, sounding a touch annoyed. "Just what are you doing? Sleeping? It's not even six-thirty!"

There was no reply from the lump. Not even a simple muscle twitching to show life.

Karin sighed again at him.

"Really, Kazune-kun…" she said softly. "We're all worried about you."

"… I'm sorry," he said softly. He still did not move, but he spoke.

Karin stopped for a moment. "Kazune-kun?"

"I'm sorry for troubling you so much, Karin," he sighed. His voice sounded tired and strained, nothing like Kazune. Even the apology was unusually formal for him. At least, coming from him and going to her it was.

_What's with him?_ she wondered, walking around the bed. _He's not being himself. It's weird. What did that woman do to him?_

Kazune sat up slowly. He sighed softly. His hair was a mess, and even though he had been doing nothing but sleep all day, he looked absolutely exhausted. It was as if for the past few days he really hadn't been getting any sleep.

"Is that for me?"

"Huh?" Karin was snapped from her thoughts by his voice.

Kazune pointed towards the tray that she was holding. "Is that food for me?"

"Ahh… yeah," she replied. She smiled nervously. "Are you hungry today, Kazune-kun?"

He nodded and stared at the blanket.

"Yeah."

Kazune glanced up at her with a small smile on his face, as if he was laughing at himself.

"I've just been sitting here, but I haven't eaten anything," he replied. "I'm starving."

"Ah, well, here y' go, Kazune-kun!" Karin chirped nervously as she placed the tray on the night stand. She had no idea where else to put it. She never really had. But Kazune seemed satisfied with her choice. He watched her with that same small, pleasant smile on his face.

Actually, it was beginning to weird her out.

Kazune barely waited before she could let go of the tray and get out of his way before he lunged for it. She watched in awe as he inhaled the entire plateful. He hadn't had much of an appetite lately, but suddenly he seemed hungry enough to eat everything in the house.

Who knew? Maybe he could.

"It's good," he sighed blissfully, smiling at her. "Did Himeka make this?"

Karin pulled a face. She knew that she wasn't usually any good at that sort of thing, but it still annoyed her to hear him ask if it was Himeka's cooking. Why couldn't it be hers? She took it to him. The least he could have done was pretended that he assumed it was hers.

"Actually, Kazune-kun…" he choked out through clenched teeth.

"Ah, it's yours then, Karin?" he said suddenly. He laughed a little, half hiding his mouth behind a fist. "That makes it _amazing_. Thank you."

"Aaah…" Karin was shocked speechless. She, too, laughed softly, but hers was more nervous and unsettled.

Kazune was finally acting a little more normal now. She was relieved by that. He was even starting to poke fun at her again. Despite the fact that he looked completely exhausted, Karin was sure that he was getting better. Of course, being exhausted was a usual state for Kazune after he used his God form. Maybe that had something to do with his recent fatigue.

"Kazune-kun…" Karin called out to him softly. She hesitated for a moment. If she asked him this now, she would definitely be bringing up painful memories for him. But she wanted to know what had happened to him in the warehouse.

"You must be tired of standing, Karin," Kazune said, abruptly changing the subject as if he had known what she was about to ask. "You've been standing since you came in. You can sit down, you know."

"Aha ha…" With nothing to say, and no real argument about sitting down, Karin glanced around the room. There were no chairs readily available for her to use.

He gave his bed a light pat. "It won't bother me if you sit here."

"R-Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Sit."

Still unsure about what was happening, Karin did as she was told. She sat down on the edge of the bed, and stared at him. Even his smile seemed to be genuine, and the way that he was looking at her now was familiar to the other times when they were alone. It was a personal stare, with a gentle smile, and his eyes locked with hers. Only Kazune could have pulled it off without being romantic about it.

"Geez, girls," he sighed, leaning back against the headboard. He rolled his head back a little, and stared up at the ceiling.

Karin's eye twitched, but she forced herself to remain calm. Yeah, Kazune was slowly, but surely, returning to his old self.

She looked away from him, and out the window.

"Kazune-kun, I'm glad that you're feeling better now," she told him.

He made a small sound that she couldn't distinguish.

"Yeah," he agreed. "I am… I am…"

Something in Kazune's voice caught Karin's attention, and she turned to face him.

"Kazune-kun…?"

"I don't remember anything," he told her with a sigh.

Karin fell silent. He looked upset enough that not even she was not going to question if he really couldn't remember what had happened to him. It wasn't like Kazune to hide that sort of thing, especially when it was so important. And when he had been so unstable lately, and he was just seeming to find some peace, Karin was not about to shatter that.

She leaned over the side of the bed a little, and thought for a moment. There were very few things that she could say for him.

_I'm such a waste,_ Karin thought, mentally sighing at herself. Her gaze returned to the sky beyond the window. _It would have been better if Himeka-chan was here. She's always knows what to do for Kazune-kun._

Both were silent for a while, off in their own worlds. Karin searched her mind for something decent to say, for some way to comfort him, but she came up with nothing. Besides that, she was starting to doubt that she needed to say anything. Kazune seemed comfortable with the silence. Maybe all he needed was to have someone there with him for the time being. Besides, if she opened her mouth right now, there was no telling what stupid thing she might end up saying.

_Yeah. Just sit here…_ she told herself. _If Kazune-kun wants to talk, he'll talk._

The minutes passed by slowly. Karin was not sure how many it was that passed, but they were passing slowly. Kazune still had not said a word to her. It concerned her, but at the same time she was a little happy. If Kazune was getting better, then things could go back to normal.

_But that woman… she's still out there,_ Karin thought, stealing a glance at Kazune.

Her eye twitched again.

Kazune had fallen asleep.

----------

For once, Karin was up early enough to watch the sun rise. She had set her alarm clock for five that morning, to give her time to practice some self defense before heading off to school with Himeka. While the attacks from Kirio and Kirika had stopped for the time being, they could start back up at any time. But they were the least of Karin's worries. What worried her the most was the strange woman that had kidnapped Kazune. If she reappeared, Karin wanted to be able to take her on, or at least put up the best fight that was possible.

_Kazune-kun would do the same for me,_ she said to herself. She sighed and frowned deeply. "But… it's hard to practice on your own…"

"Go, Karin-chan!" Nike cheered her on from the sidelines.

"Heh." She bowed her head in defeat. She had been attempting to practice for nearly an hour now, and had gotten no where with it. Her intention _had_ been to practice, but _where_ to start and how to do it was beyond her.

"This is why I couldn't help Kazune-kun," she muttered.

"Nya? Are you giving up, Karin-chan?" Nike asked as she bounced over to her.

"It's only six. If I go back to bed now, that's another hour of sleep," she replied with a yawn. "It's no use for me to practice on my own like this. I'm so stupid without Kazune-kun."

"You're not," she said. She ran in front of her. "You should keep on trying!"

Karin came to a stop two seconds before stepping on the cat.

"What? So I can throw _myself_ on my butt?" she retorted. "Nuh-uh. I can't do this on my own. I'll just ask Kazune-kun--"

She bit her lip hard suddenly to shut herself up. She could _not_ keep depending on Kazune like this. Especially not now. He was in no condition to piggy-back her through both school and in battle.

Karin sighed again. "Those girls were right… I am a pain."

"Nya? Karin-chan?" Nike questioned as she walked away.

-----

Meh. The new editor is bugging me a litle... I tried to copy and paste the whole thing, but it misplaced parts of my story, italicized and underlined things that shouldn't have been italicized and underlined... It was a pain. At least this way seems to be working. Should have done it from the beginning, but I was too lazy to just save an .html version of the story. It also refuses to do the horizontal line for me -- don't the admin here test out these things before placing them up? ...or maybe it's just this computer...

Anyways, let's start taking a look at some of the story. The first review I got sent me into a fit of laughter(thank you, Otaku-kun) and it still does. I don't know why, just the wording of that one line I think it was. It was also the first time anyone's even asked me that question, despite how obvious it is. No, that wasn't me saying yes to the question, but that was the intent behind how I wrote her dialogue.She's pretty creepy, I know. She will be making another appearance or two in the story, but that won't be for a few chapters.

The story is actually fairly slow going, and will be somewhere between 8-10 chapters long(the amount of verses to the song Magenta Rain, which I have to find again because my account started messing up and had to be deleted, so I lost all of my favourites...).The response already has surprised me. I know that Kamichama Karin is fairly popular at the moment, but I wasn't expecting four reviews(a small number, but even just the first one surprised me because I didn't think MR would be have anyone reading it yet). Even Moonlight Demon took at least three or four chapters before it was noticed, for the original version.

Anyways, I've started rambling. Thank you to everyone who has still been reading, and the next chapter of Magenta Rain will be up as soon as I have written it.


	3. Chapter 3

- Please note that when Yukio's text is italicized he is speaking in English.

_Watashi wa anata no tame ni  
__(I do it for you)  
__Anata wa watashi no tame ni  
__(You do it for me)  
__Shougai wo sasageru ai NO Uta  
__(To grant each other life--our song of love)  
__Subete wa hitotsu ni natte  
__(When everything becomes one,)  
__Hitori ja naku tte hitotsu de  
__(One without loneliness)  
__2-do to futari wa mou hanarenai  
__(We'll never be apart again)_

**Magenta Rain  
**Chapter Three, The New Transfer Student

Was that it?

All Kazune had to do was say "I'm alright", and that was the end of it?

Karin sighed heavily as she stood just outside her classroom. From there she could hear the chatter of her classmates as they rejoiced over Kazune's return to school. They were loud and excited - feelings that she just could not share with the rest of them. Even if he was smiling and acting like his old self, she wasn't sure that was really him. How could anyone just get better overnight?

She couldn't accept it.

_It's not that simple!_ she told herself. _It's not! It never is!_

She raised her hand to the door, and hesitated.

Kazune wasn't alright. She was certain of that much. It wasn't unlike Kazune to push himself beyond his own limits. Even if he was still hurting, even if he was still feeling insecure, he wouldn't allow himself to show it. He would continue on as normal and pretend that none of it was there.

The worst part was that she could never tell when he was doing that.

"Ah, excuse me?" a voice called out to her from down the hallway.

Karin turned so that she could face the newcomer. He was walking quickly, practically jogging towards her.

She assumed that it was a 'he', anyways. He had long, flowing red hair that swung loosely behind him as he moved. And as he approached her she could make out the details of his face. Everything about him was… the only word that she could think of that suited him best was feminine - _delicate_, even. The only thing about him that told her he was a guy was the fact that he was wearing the school's male uniform.

"Yo!" he greeted her, skidding to a stop a few feet away from her. He grinned wolfishly.

"Um, hi," she replied, staring at him.

Without another word he reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumple piece of white paper. He unfolded it and played with it, trying to straighten it out as best was possible. Once satisfied with his work, his grin widened and he held the paper out so that Karin could see what was written on it.

"Could you tell me where this classroom is, _Beautiful_," he asked.

Karin stared at him for a moment. The last part of what he'd said - was that another language? She'd never heard the word before, if it was even one word. What the hell did It mean?

She stood there, blinking at him.

He blinked back.

"Oh…" he drew out the syllable, and tilted his head to one side. "_Are you an exchange student, too_?"

Karin bit back a growl. Who the hell was this guy and what did he want with her? The current situation involving Kazune was complicated enough without some idiot foreigner entering in to make things worse. Even if the extent of his involvement would only go this far, at the moment that felt like too much.

"No? I'm wrong?" he chirped. "You have such pretty blonde hair, I thought maybe you were!"

She bowed her head and bit back a sigh. She'd been doing that too much lately. She needed to hold a more positive attitude.

Was the positive of this situation that if she helped him that she wouldn't have to face Kazune yet? Could she really consider that a positive thing?

_It'll have to do for now._

He pushed the paper closer to her. She took it from him and let her eyes roam over the typed words that were on it. She shook her head slowly.

There went her moment of avoiding Kazune.

"You're in my class," she told him, handing the paper back.

The boy took the paper and nodded eagerly. "Yes? And where is that?"

_Is he an idiot?_ she mentally growled. He was giving her a headache. She pointed at the door she was standing in front of. "This classroom."

"Ah, thank you, thank you!" he gushed.

"Uh, yeah, no-"

He through himself at her, squealing and laughing. Karin blushed deeply as his arms wrapped around her body and held her tightly. She raised her arms to push away, but that only encouraged him to hold her a little tighter.

"Such a beautiful girl shouldn't be crying," he whispered into her ear.

Karin gasped. She could feel her face heat up even more.

"I-I wasn't…" she protested, beginning to squirm.

"Really?"

If it was possible, he held her a little closer, his grip just a little tighter than it was a moment earlier. He buried his face against her neck. She gasped again, her body froze. She closed her eyes and lowered her forehead so that it was resting on his shoulder, suddenly feeling dizzy.

_This feeling…_

It was such an intimate embrace. The way he was holding her was so comforting, so reassuring. If she gave into everything now and cried, he'd continue to hold her just like this and support her. The world and all of it's problems could slowly melt away, and all that mattered was that he was holding her now. Everything would be alright. Everything would find a way to work out.

Somewhere in the distance, a door slid open.

That didn't matter.

"Karin!?" Kazune's _very_ shocked voice pierced through her tranquil thoughts.

She squeaked, and with all of the force she could muster she pushed herself away from the crimson haired boy. He didn't fight her this time, and even took a step back away from her. His eyes went round as he stared at Kazune.

Her classmates gathered around Kazune, their voices that had been so excitedly chattering about his return were now rising to talk about herself and the foreigner.

Karin stared at him for a moment. His eyes were round in surprise, mixed with anger and something that resembled pain. She looked away. It was an odd expression on him, something she'd never seen before. But as with all of the other 'first times' she'd seen this past week, she couldn't face this one.

She cast her gaze to the side, still blushing furiously.

"Ka-Kazune… kun… I…"

"Ah, I wasn't aware that my beautiful savior had a boyfriend," the boy tittered.

Karin jumped. How could he think that?

"We… We aren't…" Then she silently added, _I like Kirika-senpai, anyway…_

The boy's face lit up suddenly. Karin took a step back, just to be careful. But he seemed to have lost his interest in her as he approached Kazune instead. The wolfish grin that he had used to greet her resurfaced.

"My, there aren't many boys quite as beautiful as you," he cooed.

Kazune's expression changed to the calm, yet irritated, one that she was most familiar with. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at him.

Karin, Himeka, and everyone else in the classroom watched with wide eyes as the boy continued to work his way closer to him. He took Kazune's hands in his own, leaning in so that their faces were only inches apart. He smiled; Kazune frowned.

"Really, you're so," he cooed, brushing his fingers lightly against Kazune's cheek, "beautiful."

Kazune visibly paled.

Karin took a step forward. "H-Hey, you…"

His eyes widened; a fine tremble shook his body. He was scared, terrified of him. Karin mentally cursed herself as she rushed to push the boy away from him. She turned to face Kazune, who was whimpering softly. He raised his hands to his face, hiding it from… something.

_I knew it. I knew he wasn't ready to be here,_ her mind screamed at her.

"Karin…"

She blinked. One hand was reaching out for her now, shaking. Unshed tears glittered in his eyes. He looked so hurt, so desperate.

What was going on in his mind?

"Ka… Kazune-kun?" She reached out for his hand.

"No…"

His legs gave out beneath him. She dove for him, but one of the other guys in the classroom caught him before he hit the ground. Himeka was instantly as his side, quietly calling out "Kazune-chan" to him. The KazuneZ were gasping and screaming, crowding around him as the teacher tried to push everyone back.

Karin glanced back at the red-haired boy that had sunk back into the scenery. He was staring at Kazune with oddly amused eyes - a gaze that made her feel very uncomfortable.

Noticing her stare, he shrugged and smiled softly at her.

"I've never made a man faint before."

Ah, and so... that's the first chapter in well over a year. I had a lot of stumbling around to do, as well as getting myself in the appropriate mood for it. I'm sorry that it's only one scene, but it's also over half the size of the other two chapters, or so I reasoned with myself. I hope that I can recapture some old fans and make some new ones with this.

Up to date chapters and discussions about my stories can be found on my forum. We're always looking for new members. Come and take a look around, won't you?

- Makami


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